Well, Christmas is coming again. I wrote about it last year, so I won't rehash what I said then. If you missed it, here's the link: http://randomcontact.blogspot.com/2007/12/christmas-is-coming.html.
I do have one crochet to get off my chest. Why do Christian radio stations play "Christmas" songs that don't mention the birth of Jesus? Aren't Christian radio stations supposed to glorify Him? Some Christmas songs don't even mention Christmas! "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells" are more about winter than anything. They fit in the middle of January as much as they do in December. Have these people thought about this?
I guess these stations are just going along with what's popular. And that brings me to the next topic I want to talk about: Why is Christmas so popular in America? Is it just due to commercialism?
Many of the colonists that came to America were Calvinists. They wanted to get away from the practices of the Catholic Church that they saw as corrupt and pagan-influenced, and so they did not celebrate Christmas. At the end of the American Revolution, most of the people that did celebrate Christmas were Catholic or Episcopalian. The Catholics included many in Maryland and the Hessian mercenaries that had fought for the British. The Episcopalians were dominant in Virginia and the Carolinas. Somehow, the observance of Christmas spread and became acceptable to groups that once ignored it or outright shunned the practice. How did this happen?
I attribute the change to 2 factors: immigration and literature. Music, movies, radio and television continued and amplified the influence of literature.
During the 1800's as the country expanded West, aided by the increasing speed of transportation brought by the development of railroads, and the by the increased speed of communications brought by the telegraph, the promise of new lands and new opportunties spurred an increase in immigration. Many of these immigrants were Catholics, coming from Catholic lands such as Ireland, Poland, and Italy. This increased the number of people observing Christmas.
The contribution of literature to the popularity of Christmas comes from two sources.
First is the poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore in 1822. You could probably recite most of it from memory from having heard it so much. This one piece of literature has defined so much of the imagery associated with Christmas. Of course, the sentiment and whimsey make it irresistable! For this reason it has become a tradition no only in many families, but in other places as well. One of the local TV stations every Christmas Eve has their staff, both on- and off-camera personnel, read the poem, one line per staffer in a video presentation.
Charles Dickens was known for the other great piece of traditional Christmas literature, A Christmas Carol (1843). He wrote other works on Christmas, and his novel A Tales of Two Cities (1859), has an important scene take place at a Christmas Eve service. The popularity of these works just added to the popularity of Christmas. Because Dickens was a lifelong Anglican, his works helped make Christmas acceptable to Protestants.
Of course, the popularity of a practice doesn't necessarily justify it. In the case of Christmas, I believe that what you celebrate has more to do with it than anything. Are you celebrating a day, or an event? The Bible doesn't tell us to celebrate Christ's birth, but it doesn't forbid it either. If you're not celebrating His birth, what are you celebrating? Aren't you glad Jesus was born?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
A Thanksgiving Meditation
As I write this, Thanksgiving Day 2008 will be over within a few hours. I wonder how many Americans this day paused to give thanks to God for His many blessings, or at least, if they don't believe in God, to reflect on the elements of their lives they appreciate. Far too many people see this as a day for football, food and family, or preparations for the shopping frenzy that begins tomorrow.
I could go back and discuss the origins of this American holiday, to relate how the Indians and the settlers cooperated to survive a harsh winter and when the following harvest came in with enough to sustain them for the coming winter, they chose to celebrate with a feast. I could mention the various Presidential declarations establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday. But I wish to go deeper.
First, what does it mean to thank someone? We are told by our parents to say "Thank you," or at least parents used to teach that. Is it just something we say to be nice, to get along with others?
When you give thanks, you do two things.
First, you recognize that someone did something for you, or gave you something. Many times, the thing done was something you could have done for yourself, but maybe you didn't have the time or the means. Sometimes the act was something you couldn't do. In that case, giving thanks can be an act of humility. That might explain why some people are never thankful, they don't want to recognize their shortcomings.
Second, you recognize the value of what the person did or gave you. Think of how hurt you feel when no one appreciates what you do for them.
Now, about national celebrations for the giving of thanks, America is not the first. The feasts of ancient Israel include thanksgiving celebrations, and those celebrations continue today as part of Judaism.
At the end of Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread, people would bring in the first sheaf of the springtime harvest and sacrifice it. This is the Feast of the Firstfruits, and marks the beginning of the springtime harvest. It also recognizes the fertility of the Promised Land that God was going to lead his people to.
Fifty days after the beginning of Passover came Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks. It originally memorialized when Moses received the Torah from God on Mount Sinai, but it also marked the end of the spring time harvest.
Why give thanks to God? I believe John the Baptist said it best in John 3: 27: "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
I could go back and discuss the origins of this American holiday, to relate how the Indians and the settlers cooperated to survive a harsh winter and when the following harvest came in with enough to sustain them for the coming winter, they chose to celebrate with a feast. I could mention the various Presidential declarations establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday. But I wish to go deeper.
First, what does it mean to thank someone? We are told by our parents to say "Thank you," or at least parents used to teach that. Is it just something we say to be nice, to get along with others?
When you give thanks, you do two things.
First, you recognize that someone did something for you, or gave you something. Many times, the thing done was something you could have done for yourself, but maybe you didn't have the time or the means. Sometimes the act was something you couldn't do. In that case, giving thanks can be an act of humility. That might explain why some people are never thankful, they don't want to recognize their shortcomings.
Second, you recognize the value of what the person did or gave you. Think of how hurt you feel when no one appreciates what you do for them.
Now, about national celebrations for the giving of thanks, America is not the first. The feasts of ancient Israel include thanksgiving celebrations, and those celebrations continue today as part of Judaism.
At the end of Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread, people would bring in the first sheaf of the springtime harvest and sacrifice it. This is the Feast of the Firstfruits, and marks the beginning of the springtime harvest. It also recognizes the fertility of the Promised Land that God was going to lead his people to.
Fifty days after the beginning of Passover came Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks. It originally memorialized when Moses received the Torah from God on Mount Sinai, but it also marked the end of the spring time harvest.
Why give thanks to God? I believe John the Baptist said it best in John 3: 27: "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Winter Forecast 2008 - 2009
My winter forecast is: Cold.
No, wait that's too simple. I actually don't do a forecast where I look over data and analyze things. I have hunches, I guess you would call them. They are the product of my subconscious mind processing my observations of weather trends.
Of course the temperatures will get cold in Oklahoma during the winter. Winter days around here are chilly in the afternoon, and cold overnight, sometimes freezing. Sometimes we have freezing temps during the day, but usually when we have a snowstorm, or worse, an ice storm.
Some are expecting a hard winter. I think we are in for a dry one. We've had 2 wet winters in a row, and Oklahoma winters tend to be dry. I believe we are due for a dry winter. We will have a few winter precipitation events, but only one or two will be major. I also believe we will see several episodes of very dry and very cold air coming straight down from the north.
So far, the only observations I have made that support this hunch are these: we have already had 2 freezes in the Tulsa area, but we haven't had much rain since mid-September.
No, wait that's too simple. I actually don't do a forecast where I look over data and analyze things. I have hunches, I guess you would call them. They are the product of my subconscious mind processing my observations of weather trends.
Of course the temperatures will get cold in Oklahoma during the winter. Winter days around here are chilly in the afternoon, and cold overnight, sometimes freezing. Sometimes we have freezing temps during the day, but usually when we have a snowstorm, or worse, an ice storm.
Some are expecting a hard winter. I think we are in for a dry one. We've had 2 wet winters in a row, and Oklahoma winters tend to be dry. I believe we are due for a dry winter. We will have a few winter precipitation events, but only one or two will be major. I also believe we will see several episodes of very dry and very cold air coming straight down from the north.
So far, the only observations I have made that support this hunch are these: we have already had 2 freezes in the Tulsa area, but we haven't had much rain since mid-September.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Elections 2008
The elections are 2 weeks away. I've not said much specifically about them, and have made only a few political posts. However, I do realize the importance of politics and voting.
If you are one of those that don't see the point in voting, let me propose a little exercise that will open your eyes. Get out a sheet of paper or a notepad and your wallet/billfold/pocketbook. Make a list of what's in your wallet. Then go over the list and put a mark by any item that is issued by a government entity: money (Dept. of Treasury), driver's license (DMV in most states, DPS in OK), etc. Also put check marks by anything that is government regulated: credit or debit cards (banking), business cards from regulated or licensed operations (plumber, electrician, wrecker), etc. Now count the number of marks, and the number of unmarked items.
Now, if you are one of those who chooses not to vote because, "All politicians are crooks," consider this: Where else do you get to choose your crook? If you didn't have a choice about being robbed, but you could choose which crook, would you choose one who would steal only $10, or one who would steal $10,000? Or, would you let someone else decide? Guess what you do when you don't vote.
Back to this year's elections.
Too many of Obama's supporters think he is some kind of a savior. Well, I hate to disappoint them, but there is only one such position, and the current occupant, Jesus Christ, is not planning on vacating His spot anytime soon. I'm sure He's not too happy that people are trying to replace Him.
Speaking of Jesus and politics, I said in an earlier post that Jesus was probably more conservative than some people think. Consider some of His parables.
Parables are not deeply mysterious. They are illustrations of spiritual principles taken from common experience. The most well-known parable is the one about the Sower. This was something very common in an agricultural society where the work was done mostly by hand, because not many people had animals suitable for plowing and such. When Jesus started by saying, "A sower went forth to sow..." I'm sure more than one listener thought, "Been there, done that, my feet still aching from all that walking!"
I won't go into the spiritual side of the parables, but Jesus gave some parables, that just on the level of human experience, they would make no sense except in a capitalist economy.
The best one of these is in the first part of Matthew 20. A landowner needs to hire some men to harvest his crop. He goes to the village square early in the morning and hires some guys to work for a day's wages. He goes back at 9 AM, noon, 3 PM and 5 PM and hires more men. Each time he does, he offers a full day's wages to each group. When he pays everybody at 6 PM, he pays them all a full day's wages, including the guys that had been there only for an hour. The ones hired first thought they deserved more, because they had been there all day. But the landowner pointed out that they agreed to work for one day's wages, and he paid them what they agreed to. If he wanted to pay the other men the same amount for working a shorter time, that was his business and not theirs. He was paying with his own money, and it was his to do with what he wanted.
Of course, this story wouldn't make sense in a socialist or communist economy. The landowner wouldn't be a landowner, it would all belong to the government. Some bureaucrat would tell him when the harvest had to be finished, and how many workers he would have for the harvest, and how much to pay them.
Now, try telling me that Jesus was a socialist. Jesus flat out said that the kingdom of heaven was like the landowner, the capitalist.
I'll admit that McCain is not my ideal candidate for president. But he is not trying to pass himself off as any kind of savior, because he knows he's not, and presidents are not to be saviors.
Too often I hear or read where people say the president runs the country, or he runs the economy. NO HE DOESN'T!!! THAT'S NOT HIS JOB, NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE!!! IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT RIGHT NOW YOU....
Sorry, lost control there for a second. But this kind of ignorance is what gets liberals elected, and leads to the financial problems we are having right now. The government is not responsible for your welfare, you are. We do not have a command economy. No command economy has ever prospered. Communist China is prospering right now, but only because they have adopted limited capitalism. Orientals also have a very strong work ethic, and that is what has sustained them through years of socialism.
For those that doubt Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, take good look at a map for once. You cannot enter or leave Alaska without crossing an international border or international waters. If you were to take that map, cut out Alaska and place it over the 48 contiguous states, you will see just how big the state is. Even though the population is small, governing that much territory is a challenge.
While I don't agree with all of McCain's positions, I believe he is right about the most important issues, he truly cares about this country and wants what's best for it, and I also like his taste in women.
If you are one of those that don't see the point in voting, let me propose a little exercise that will open your eyes. Get out a sheet of paper or a notepad and your wallet/billfold/pocketbook. Make a list of what's in your wallet. Then go over the list and put a mark by any item that is issued by a government entity: money (Dept. of Treasury), driver's license (DMV in most states, DPS in OK), etc. Also put check marks by anything that is government regulated: credit or debit cards (banking), business cards from regulated or licensed operations (plumber, electrician, wrecker), etc. Now count the number of marks, and the number of unmarked items.
Now, if you are one of those who chooses not to vote because, "All politicians are crooks," consider this: Where else do you get to choose your crook? If you didn't have a choice about being robbed, but you could choose which crook, would you choose one who would steal only $10, or one who would steal $10,000? Or, would you let someone else decide? Guess what you do when you don't vote.
Back to this year's elections.
Too many of Obama's supporters think he is some kind of a savior. Well, I hate to disappoint them, but there is only one such position, and the current occupant, Jesus Christ, is not planning on vacating His spot anytime soon. I'm sure He's not too happy that people are trying to replace Him.
Speaking of Jesus and politics, I said in an earlier post that Jesus was probably more conservative than some people think. Consider some of His parables.
Parables are not deeply mysterious. They are illustrations of spiritual principles taken from common experience. The most well-known parable is the one about the Sower. This was something very common in an agricultural society where the work was done mostly by hand, because not many people had animals suitable for plowing and such. When Jesus started by saying, "A sower went forth to sow..." I'm sure more than one listener thought, "Been there, done that, my feet still aching from all that walking!"
I won't go into the spiritual side of the parables, but Jesus gave some parables, that just on the level of human experience, they would make no sense except in a capitalist economy.
The best one of these is in the first part of Matthew 20. A landowner needs to hire some men to harvest his crop. He goes to the village square early in the morning and hires some guys to work for a day's wages. He goes back at 9 AM, noon, 3 PM and 5 PM and hires more men. Each time he does, he offers a full day's wages to each group. When he pays everybody at 6 PM, he pays them all a full day's wages, including the guys that had been there only for an hour. The ones hired first thought they deserved more, because they had been there all day. But the landowner pointed out that they agreed to work for one day's wages, and he paid them what they agreed to. If he wanted to pay the other men the same amount for working a shorter time, that was his business and not theirs. He was paying with his own money, and it was his to do with what he wanted.
Of course, this story wouldn't make sense in a socialist or communist economy. The landowner wouldn't be a landowner, it would all belong to the government. Some bureaucrat would tell him when the harvest had to be finished, and how many workers he would have for the harvest, and how much to pay them.
Now, try telling me that Jesus was a socialist. Jesus flat out said that the kingdom of heaven was like the landowner, the capitalist.
I'll admit that McCain is not my ideal candidate for president. But he is not trying to pass himself off as any kind of savior, because he knows he's not, and presidents are not to be saviors.
Too often I hear or read where people say the president runs the country, or he runs the economy. NO HE DOESN'T!!! THAT'S NOT HIS JOB, NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE!!! IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT RIGHT NOW YOU....
Sorry, lost control there for a second. But this kind of ignorance is what gets liberals elected, and leads to the financial problems we are having right now. The government is not responsible for your welfare, you are. We do not have a command economy. No command economy has ever prospered. Communist China is prospering right now, but only because they have adopted limited capitalism. Orientals also have a very strong work ethic, and that is what has sustained them through years of socialism.
For those that doubt Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, take good look at a map for once. You cannot enter or leave Alaska without crossing an international border or international waters. If you were to take that map, cut out Alaska and place it over the 48 contiguous states, you will see just how big the state is. Even though the population is small, governing that much territory is a challenge.
While I don't agree with all of McCain's positions, I believe he is right about the most important issues, he truly cares about this country and wants what's best for it, and I also like his taste in women.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Miscellania
Follow up on the Installing Software? post:
If you do have to call tech support, do yourself and the technician a favor: CALM DOWN!
I deal mostly with students that are installing software so they can work at the dorm or at home to finish their assignments on time. I know the pressure they are under, I've been up against deadlines too. But some people act as if they don't get the assignment in on time, they will fail and they have no hope of success. However, I have flunked courses, retook them and passed. Unless you are studying to be an emergency room surgeon, just how important is this work?
Stress can keep you from having a proper perspective on things. When discussing your problem, relax. Also, prepare for your call. Is the software giving you an error message? The message will have information the tech will need to research your problem. Keep the message up on your computer, or clipboard the text of the message into Notepad. The tech might have to ask you to send him or her the message in an email. Also, you might take some quick notes on what happens when you take the actions that cause the problem to appear.
I'm writing this because I actually hung up on a potential client this week. She had installed AutoCAD on a Mac notebook, and it was acting strange. For those that don't know, Autodesk, the company that makes ACAD, decided long ago to stop producing ACAD for Macs. They only produce it for Windows operating systems. To run ACAD on a Mac, you have to load Windows. I'm not sure if Autodesk supports ACAD in this setup. But that's not why I hung up on her.
I hung up on her because she needed to calm down. From the way she was acting, I believe that if I told her to calm down, she would have just gotten more upset. You could hear the tension in her voice. She talked fast, and threw a lot at me with each breath. If I didn't answer right away, she would start talking again and not give me time to think. When I did tell her that a virus could have gotten on the Windows side of her system, she contradicted me. Macs are NOT immune to viruses! It's just that hackers have easier targets in PC's. If Macs were as popular as PC's, they would have the same virus problems that PC's do. When I realized that she was making me nervous, and she wasn't likely to listen to anything I had to say, I hung up.
On the flipside, I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. As I have mentioned, I work at home. I record information about the calls I take in a database that I access by a remote connection to a 'puter at the main office. Someone from the office brings my paycheck to me. But they have to deliver checks to other employees in the area, so it's not like they have to come out of their way to get my paycheck to me. The drive directly from the office to my house takes about 15 - 20 minutes. When I used to drive to the office, I would stop at a C-store for something to drink, and the trip was about 30 minutes.
I get a call from Barbara at the office. She asks if I'm going to be home about 30 minutes later. I say I was fixing to go somewhere, but I should be back by then. She tells me she would leave the office about 11:00. She then explains that they're being audited on Monday, and the accountants can't find the W-4's, and she needs to come by with a form for me to sign. In the back of my mind, I though, "Yeah, right!"
I run my errands, and get back in time. I'm actually sitting in my room about 11:30 when I hear a car door slam. I grab my pen just in case, and head towards the front door. Instead of a form, she had a cake, balloons and a birthday card signed by the people at the office. I haven't had a birthday cake in years. Usually, birthday celebrations at my house consist of ordering in pizza, and a card that might be handmade. The cake is chocolate, with lots of butter cream frosting, and it is so rich and deliscious!
I didn't get pizza, but Mom and I went over to Bixby because she wanted to get some fresh okra at Conrad Farms, then we went around the corner to the Apple Barrel Cafe, where she treated me to lunch. We both had catfish, which neither one of us has had in a while.
Just a few minutes ago, while typing in the previous item, I turned off my radio. I listened to the Tulsa University game against University of Texas - El Paso. TU won, 77 - 35! There's been talk about TU getting ranked in the Top 25, and now with a win this big, and 7 - 0 record, and other teams in the Top 25 faltering, it should happen. If it doesn't, well, I'm not saying it's time for pitchforks and torches, but...
If you do have to call tech support, do yourself and the technician a favor: CALM DOWN!
I deal mostly with students that are installing software so they can work at the dorm or at home to finish their assignments on time. I know the pressure they are under, I've been up against deadlines too. But some people act as if they don't get the assignment in on time, they will fail and they have no hope of success. However, I have flunked courses, retook them and passed. Unless you are studying to be an emergency room surgeon, just how important is this work?
Stress can keep you from having a proper perspective on things. When discussing your problem, relax. Also, prepare for your call. Is the software giving you an error message? The message will have information the tech will need to research your problem. Keep the message up on your computer, or clipboard the text of the message into Notepad. The tech might have to ask you to send him or her the message in an email. Also, you might take some quick notes on what happens when you take the actions that cause the problem to appear.
I'm writing this because I actually hung up on a potential client this week. She had installed AutoCAD on a Mac notebook, and it was acting strange. For those that don't know, Autodesk, the company that makes ACAD, decided long ago to stop producing ACAD for Macs. They only produce it for Windows operating systems. To run ACAD on a Mac, you have to load Windows. I'm not sure if Autodesk supports ACAD in this setup. But that's not why I hung up on her.
I hung up on her because she needed to calm down. From the way she was acting, I believe that if I told her to calm down, she would have just gotten more upset. You could hear the tension in her voice. She talked fast, and threw a lot at me with each breath. If I didn't answer right away, she would start talking again and not give me time to think. When I did tell her that a virus could have gotten on the Windows side of her system, she contradicted me. Macs are NOT immune to viruses! It's just that hackers have easier targets in PC's. If Macs were as popular as PC's, they would have the same virus problems that PC's do. When I realized that she was making me nervous, and she wasn't likely to listen to anything I had to say, I hung up.
On the flipside, I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. As I have mentioned, I work at home. I record information about the calls I take in a database that I access by a remote connection to a 'puter at the main office. Someone from the office brings my paycheck to me. But they have to deliver checks to other employees in the area, so it's not like they have to come out of their way to get my paycheck to me. The drive directly from the office to my house takes about 15 - 20 minutes. When I used to drive to the office, I would stop at a C-store for something to drink, and the trip was about 30 minutes.
I get a call from Barbara at the office. She asks if I'm going to be home about 30 minutes later. I say I was fixing to go somewhere, but I should be back by then. She tells me she would leave the office about 11:00. She then explains that they're being audited on Monday, and the accountants can't find the W-4's, and she needs to come by with a form for me to sign. In the back of my mind, I though, "Yeah, right!"
I run my errands, and get back in time. I'm actually sitting in my room about 11:30 when I hear a car door slam. I grab my pen just in case, and head towards the front door. Instead of a form, she had a cake, balloons and a birthday card signed by the people at the office. I haven't had a birthday cake in years. Usually, birthday celebrations at my house consist of ordering in pizza, and a card that might be handmade. The cake is chocolate, with lots of butter cream frosting, and it is so rich and deliscious!
I didn't get pizza, but Mom and I went over to Bixby because she wanted to get some fresh okra at Conrad Farms, then we went around the corner to the Apple Barrel Cafe, where she treated me to lunch. We both had catfish, which neither one of us has had in a while.
Just a few minutes ago, while typing in the previous item, I turned off my radio. I listened to the Tulsa University game against University of Texas - El Paso. TU won, 77 - 35! There's been talk about TU getting ranked in the Top 25, and now with a win this big, and 7 - 0 record, and other teams in the Top 25 faltering, it should happen. If it doesn't, well, I'm not saying it's time for pitchforks and torches, but...
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Installing software?
Most people get by with the software that comes with their computer: word processor, spreadsheet, email client, etc. Some need specialized programs to pursue a course of study, or for their jobs, or sometimes just for a hobby. Some of these programs are commercially produced, and that accounts for my present job. I work from home, and I take calls from people that are trying to install and/or register student versions of Autodesk products.
Over the nearly 18 months I have been doing this, I have learned some general things that can save people some grief if they are trying to install a large and complex program.
1. If you need a software package for a course of study (degree or certificate), make sure you get the right product. Later courses might require more advanced features that are not in the basic product. The best people to advise you on this are the instructors or professors who will be teaching those courses. Don't rely on salespeople at a vendor, they probably don't know the difference, unless the vendor specializes in programs for that particular field. This is especially true of college bookstores. Many of the people working at college bookstores are business students, and if the product you need is not business-oriented software, they probably won't know enough about the programs for your field.
2. Before you open the package, check your computer against the system requirements. This is best done before you buy the program if you are on a tight budget. If your system won't take the program, or if your system doesn't meet the minimums, calling tech support won't help much to complain about the program not loading, or running so slow it crashes.
Be aware that companies are issuing large and complex programs on DVD's, and CD drives won't read them. This is a cost-saving measure because they can put on one DVD what would require 2 or 3 CD's, and they don't have to pay as much for raw materials.
One aspect of system requirements that I am aware of is graphics (video) cards. If you are using a program for drafting or animation, the manufacturer of the program might have a list of cards that are compatible, or they might specify how much memory the card has to have. The memory on the card is a separate item from the memory on the motherboard.
3. Make sure you are logged in as Adminsitrator, or with an account that has admin privileges. Not doing this can block you from installing the software.
4. If your computer is over 1 year old, or it has seen a lot of use in the few months since you bought it, clean it up. And I'm not talking about Formula 409 and Brawny paper towels, even though it might need those too. I'm talking about cleaning up old files and excess.
If you have any antivirus or antispyware programs, use them to scan the system for bad stuff. If you do have a virus hiding on your computer, you definitely want it off your machine before you start installing software. You never know what kind of mischief those things can do when you start the installation process.
The next step is to run Disk Cleanup or a similar program to remove excess files and empty the Recycle Bin.
Finish up by defragmenting your hard drive.
5. The last thing to do before inserting the installation disk into the drive: turn off all security software such as firewalls and antivirus programs. You can always turn them back on later. They can block or corrupt an installation, and make you have to uninstall and retry.
From what I have heard, the firewall built into the various flavors of Windows is not that good. You're better off leaving it off and using one from a different source.
Norton antivirus (AKA Symantec) is known for not getting along with Autodesk products, and I suspect that it is the same with other products.
For free alternatives to the Windows firewall and Norton, go to www.komando.com, and click on the Kim's Security Center button.
6. At some point during the installation, you might be asked or given the opportunity to configure the product. If you are a new user of the program, you will probably be better off accepting the default configuration.
7. Many software manufactuers allow you to register the product online over the Internet, or offline over the phone. Online registration works best with high-speed connections such as cable or DSL. Wireless and dialup connections are iffy at best. Offline registration might not be available on the weekends, so I recommend registering during the week. Most software companies allow you to use the program for a trial period before you have to register, and if you wish to use that period, be sure to register during the week if the period is set to expire on a weekend.
8. If during the installation or registration process you cannot go on because you don't see a button at the bottom that says Next or Continue, you need to increase the screen resolution. Minimize the window. Right-click on an empty area of the desktop. Choose Properties in the menu that pops up. In the Display Properties dialog box, click on the Settings tab. In the lower left hand corner should be a slider that sets the screen resolution. Moving the slider one spot to the right usually does it for most people. Then click Apply and OK. Maximize the window, and you should be able to see everything.
Of course, these tips are for Windows, mainly XP. I don't think Mac users have these kinds of issues unless they are trying to run a Windows program.
The one tip I do have for Vista users is, if you do have any problems and the cause looks like it might be related to the operating system, turn off the User Account Control (UAC). It's that feature of Vista that tries to restrict everything you do.
Happy computing!
Over the nearly 18 months I have been doing this, I have learned some general things that can save people some grief if they are trying to install a large and complex program.
1. If you need a software package for a course of study (degree or certificate), make sure you get the right product. Later courses might require more advanced features that are not in the basic product. The best people to advise you on this are the instructors or professors who will be teaching those courses. Don't rely on salespeople at a vendor, they probably don't know the difference, unless the vendor specializes in programs for that particular field. This is especially true of college bookstores. Many of the people working at college bookstores are business students, and if the product you need is not business-oriented software, they probably won't know enough about the programs for your field.
2. Before you open the package, check your computer against the system requirements. This is best done before you buy the program if you are on a tight budget. If your system won't take the program, or if your system doesn't meet the minimums, calling tech support won't help much to complain about the program not loading, or running so slow it crashes.
Be aware that companies are issuing large and complex programs on DVD's, and CD drives won't read them. This is a cost-saving measure because they can put on one DVD what would require 2 or 3 CD's, and they don't have to pay as much for raw materials.
One aspect of system requirements that I am aware of is graphics (video) cards. If you are using a program for drafting or animation, the manufacturer of the program might have a list of cards that are compatible, or they might specify how much memory the card has to have. The memory on the card is a separate item from the memory on the motherboard.
3. Make sure you are logged in as Adminsitrator, or with an account that has admin privileges. Not doing this can block you from installing the software.
4. If your computer is over 1 year old, or it has seen a lot of use in the few months since you bought it, clean it up. And I'm not talking about Formula 409 and Brawny paper towels, even though it might need those too. I'm talking about cleaning up old files and excess.
If you have any antivirus or antispyware programs, use them to scan the system for bad stuff. If you do have a virus hiding on your computer, you definitely want it off your machine before you start installing software. You never know what kind of mischief those things can do when you start the installation process.
The next step is to run Disk Cleanup or a similar program to remove excess files and empty the Recycle Bin.
Finish up by defragmenting your hard drive.
5. The last thing to do before inserting the installation disk into the drive: turn off all security software such as firewalls and antivirus programs. You can always turn them back on later. They can block or corrupt an installation, and make you have to uninstall and retry.
From what I have heard, the firewall built into the various flavors of Windows is not that good. You're better off leaving it off and using one from a different source.
Norton antivirus (AKA Symantec) is known for not getting along with Autodesk products, and I suspect that it is the same with other products.
For free alternatives to the Windows firewall and Norton, go to www.komando.com, and click on the Kim's Security Center button.
6. At some point during the installation, you might be asked or given the opportunity to configure the product. If you are a new user of the program, you will probably be better off accepting the default configuration.
7. Many software manufactuers allow you to register the product online over the Internet, or offline over the phone. Online registration works best with high-speed connections such as cable or DSL. Wireless and dialup connections are iffy at best. Offline registration might not be available on the weekends, so I recommend registering during the week. Most software companies allow you to use the program for a trial period before you have to register, and if you wish to use that period, be sure to register during the week if the period is set to expire on a weekend.
8. If during the installation or registration process you cannot go on because you don't see a button at the bottom that says Next or Continue, you need to increase the screen resolution. Minimize the window. Right-click on an empty area of the desktop. Choose Properties in the menu that pops up. In the Display Properties dialog box, click on the Settings tab. In the lower left hand corner should be a slider that sets the screen resolution. Moving the slider one spot to the right usually does it for most people. Then click Apply and OK. Maximize the window, and you should be able to see everything.
Of course, these tips are for Windows, mainly XP. I don't think Mac users have these kinds of issues unless they are trying to run a Windows program.
The one tip I do have for Vista users is, if you do have any problems and the cause looks like it might be related to the operating system, turn off the User Account Control (UAC). It's that feature of Vista that tries to restrict everything you do.
Happy computing!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Forget Aunt Sally, I've got a GEMS for you!
No, I don't want you to neglect your relatives. You probably do that enough on your own without my encouragement. As a matter of fact, you ought to contact some of those relatives that you have been neglecting that would love to hear from you.
Actually, what I'm talking about is that mnemonic for remembering the order of operations in algebra: PEMDAS, or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Math teachers offer that up as an easy way to remember Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction.
Instead of PEMDAS, I propose a shorter mnemonic, GEMS. Before I explain what GEMS stands for, I have to show you a different way of looking at the basic arithmetic operations.
In basic arithmetic, we learn to associate numbers with amounts of things: 4 apples, 3 oranges, 5 peanut butter sandwiches, for example. In algebra and geometry, numbers are associated with displacement. In algebra, the displacement is along a line, such as an x-, y-, or z-axis. In geometry, degrees and radians are displacement along a circle.
For now, let's just focus on the linear displacement.
You can draw a number line, with the left end representing zero (0). Now you can represent addition graphically with this number line. Let's say you want to add 3 and 5. First you count 3 units to the right of zero, then from that location, you can count 5 more units to the right to arrive at the answer of 8.
Now, I know that is a very simple illustration, but it shows how addition works linearly. Using this linear concept, we can see that the other basic operations are forms of addition.
Now draw another number line, with zero at the center. Numbers to the left of zero are negative. This allows us to see subtraction as negative addition, or the addition of a negative. Let's say we want to subtract 5 from 3. We count 3 units to the right of 0 to 3, then count 5 units to the left of 3 to arrive at the answer of -2.
If you've taken basic algebra, I've not really introduced anything new yet. What I am going to introduce that is new is the way to look at multiplication and division as multiplex operations.
Let's say you are going to use the number line for multiplying 4 and 3. Starting from zero, you could count to the right 4 units, then 4 more units, and finally another 4 units. In other words, you add three 4's. You could also count 3 units to the right 4 times. Multiplication is repeated, or multiple addition. One factor gives the number of times the other number is added.
If multiplication is multiple addition, then division is multiple subtraction. How many times can you subtract 4 from 12? Find 12 on the number line and count 4 units to the left, and repeat until you reach zero.
So, now I can say that GEMS stands for Groupings, Exponents, Multiplex, and Simplex.
Grouping symbols are parentheses, ( ), brackets, [ ], and braces, { }.
Exponents include powers, roots, and logarithms.
Multiplex operations are multiplication and division.
Simplex operations are addition and subtraction.
Now isn't GEMS easier to remember than PEMDAS?
If your name is Sally, and you are somebody's aunt, please don't take this personally.
Actually, what I'm talking about is that mnemonic for remembering the order of operations in algebra: PEMDAS, or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Math teachers offer that up as an easy way to remember Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction.
Instead of PEMDAS, I propose a shorter mnemonic, GEMS. Before I explain what GEMS stands for, I have to show you a different way of looking at the basic arithmetic operations.
In basic arithmetic, we learn to associate numbers with amounts of things: 4 apples, 3 oranges, 5 peanut butter sandwiches, for example. In algebra and geometry, numbers are associated with displacement. In algebra, the displacement is along a line, such as an x-, y-, or z-axis. In geometry, degrees and radians are displacement along a circle.
For now, let's just focus on the linear displacement.
You can draw a number line, with the left end representing zero (0). Now you can represent addition graphically with this number line. Let's say you want to add 3 and 5. First you count 3 units to the right of zero, then from that location, you can count 5 more units to the right to arrive at the answer of 8.
Now, I know that is a very simple illustration, but it shows how addition works linearly. Using this linear concept, we can see that the other basic operations are forms of addition.
Now draw another number line, with zero at the center. Numbers to the left of zero are negative. This allows us to see subtraction as negative addition, or the addition of a negative. Let's say we want to subtract 5 from 3. We count 3 units to the right of 0 to 3, then count 5 units to the left of 3 to arrive at the answer of -2.
If you've taken basic algebra, I've not really introduced anything new yet. What I am going to introduce that is new is the way to look at multiplication and division as multiplex operations.
Let's say you are going to use the number line for multiplying 4 and 3. Starting from zero, you could count to the right 4 units, then 4 more units, and finally another 4 units. In other words, you add three 4's. You could also count 3 units to the right 4 times. Multiplication is repeated, or multiple addition. One factor gives the number of times the other number is added.
If multiplication is multiple addition, then division is multiple subtraction. How many times can you subtract 4 from 12? Find 12 on the number line and count 4 units to the left, and repeat until you reach zero.
So, now I can say that GEMS stands for Groupings, Exponents, Multiplex, and Simplex.
Grouping symbols are parentheses, ( ), brackets, [ ], and braces, { }.
Exponents include powers, roots, and logarithms.
Multiplex operations are multiplication and division.
Simplex operations are addition and subtraction.
Now isn't GEMS easier to remember than PEMDAS?
If your name is Sally, and you are somebody's aunt, please don't take this personally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)